How to make a wooden sled with your own hands. We use plastic pipes to make sleds: step-by-step instructions. Sleds for a snowmobile from a profile pipe.

The well-known saying: “Prepare the sleigh in summer and the cart in winter” fits the topic of this article perfectly.

Snow has fallen, we want to enjoy all the winter pleasures, and the first thing we do is go to the store for equipment.

Difficulty of choice

Skis, skates, sleds - these are the main things we purchase first. However, with all the abundance of goods offered in stores, it often happens that we leave there with nothing.

And this happens because we didn’t like the design, or the product seemed inconvenient and not functional.

After all, everyone has different tastes and preferences. Considering the original Russian ingenuity and skillful hands, can I recommend one effective way satisfy your needs.

Make a sled from plastic pipes, for example, with your own hands. This is what our distant ancestors did, so why don’t we try our strengths and skills?

Moreover, having done something yourself, you will definitely respect yourself and be proud that you can do something that someone else could not or simply did not dare to do.

What are sleds made of?

1. Durable and reliable frame. The basis is first and foremost in any vehicle. The frame must be comfortable and strong, otherwise the entire structure will fall apart at the most inopportune moment.
2. Strong runners that not only glide well. The runners should be easy to control, because the safety of the rider also depends on this.
3. The size of the fund matters too. A sled that is too small and short, as well as one that is too large and heavy, will be less maneuverable.

Note!

Having decided to make a sled yourself, first of all, decide for what purpose you need it.

Either it will be a children's sled for entertainment, or you yourself want to remember your childhood and go for a ride, having fun with friends or family.

Or maybe you need a cargo sled to transport anything - from firewood or building materials to hunting equipment? According to the size and purpose, the product will look like.

Metal sled

Industrially they are usually made from aluminum. This classic version, familiar to everyone from childhood. A seat made of multi-colored wooden planks, a removable backrest and a painted frame that peeled off in the first season of use.

The predecessors of aluminum sleds can be called heavy, powerful and clumsy structures welded from cast iron or steel. The modern generation no longer used them, but older people may well remember.

Wooden analogues

The roots of their invention go back to those distant times when our ancestors could not imagine their life without this transport. As a rule, such sleds were made of hard wood - oak or beech. They are externally attractive, but have one drawback - they are too heavy and are more suitable for transporting goods.

Inflatable sleigh

They began to be produced relatively recently, and mainly for children. Light and soft, but almost uncontrollable, they drive on their own, and there is no need to talk about high speeds and safety of the trip. At any turn it skids, and the rider simply flies out of them.

Plastic sled

Their first specimens looked very much like a plastic trough or basin. Children love to ride on them, however, they are quite fragile, hard and difficult to control.

They are good for small, safe slides, but they are unlikely to be useful for long-distance transport.

So, there are quite a lot of varieties and types. But choosing is often quite difficult. If you have small children, then you can buy a simple option for them, light and quite safe.

But choosing equipment for business purposes or for professional skating is not easy. Therefore, try making it yourself. Very well suited for this purpose.

Note!

Moreover, it is quite possible to use already used ones.

Cheap, as they say, and cheerful. Moreover, such material is very easy to process and give it any shape.

We make the sleigh ourselves

What will you need for this?

Having decided on the size and shape of the sled, stock up on pipes and a minimum of tools.

You will need:

1. New or old plastic pipes.
2. Saw or hacksaw for metal.
3. A device for welding pipes (popularly called an “iron”).
4. Industrial hair dryer for heating pipes.
5. A sharp knife, even better a special one, a shoe knife.
6. Emery cloth or file.
7. Marker or pencil.
8. Bolts with nuts.
9. Metal corners.

Manufacturing process

Winter always comes unexpectedly, even if you are really looking forward to it: one morning, waking up and looking out the window, we will see the long-awaited snow, which so attracts the kids to frolic! And adults are usually not averse to cheerfully throwing a couple of snowballs, enjoying the clean frosty air and squinting at the sparkling white, still untouched snow cover.

It would not be a mistake to say that the main attribute of winter games for children (and often adults) is a sled.

Parents who have to take their children to... kindergarten; An important help in the household is a sleigh, adapted solutions for various tasks. As a rule, any sled can be bought in a retail or online store: the choice of models is huge, the price range is very wide, the range of materials used and colors is also, as they say, for every taste. But what if you are a creative person, and your skilled hands miss the tools? Of course, get down to business! And the money saved, the feeling of satisfaction with the result and the child’s pride in his father, who “can do anything!” will be a well-deserved reward.

So, before you get down to business, you should choose the type of sled, think about its design and structure, and also decide on the materials. Let's be honest, you can assemble a classic-type sled on your own (“on your knees”)
or Finnish sleigh, which are distinguished by the presence in the front of a seat with a backrest and elongated runners with small anti-slip platforms for the feet.

As an option, you can consider a snow scooter with a front turning ski and steering wheel, but this is somewhat beyond the scope of this article and, in the strict sense, is not a sled.

The design and construction of children's sleds can be very diverse - from simple ones, aimed at solving strictly utilitarian problems, to carved ones, using openwork elements and parts made of bent wood, usually in a pseudo-traditional style. It will not be a secret that every home craftsman chooses a design according to his capabilities and technical skills, often based on the materials available.

As they say - prepare a sleigh in summer, a cart in winter!)

I rode the first winter, the snow was broken in, and for the next season it was decided to get a sled. I looked in stores and on websites, but I wanted something that was reliable and functional! Having never found anything ready-made, I decided to make it myself. I looked at the forums, various photographs, read and listened to the advice of experienced people, and thoughts began to boil in my head....

I started looking for materials in the spring, the main task was to find a HDPE pipe, there was iron in stock, there was plenty to choose from for cutting and “sewing.” When communicating on a spring hunt, the conversation turned to snowmobiles and sleighs.....and I said my thoughts out loud...

As they say, the world is not without good people, so after a few weeks, 7 meters of 230 pipes with a wall thickness of 25 mm lay in the yard, happiness knew no bounds))) The beginning is here! And now summer has come, it’s time to prepare the sleigh!

The piece was cut lengthwise into runners with a jigsaw, into three equal parts, 3 meters long I cut cross members from short pipes, the width of the snowmobile skis. First I cut out a template from cardboard

and then it didn't amount to a lot of work mark and cut the crossbars, it turned out clearly and equally

The following picture was painted

Time passed and summer flew away..... the sleigh had to be jew's harp, but there was sorely not enough time.... then a business trip, then the porcini mushrooms came... then milk mushrooms, the opening for ducks was on the way, the berries in the warm were born... and it’s already September.... also everyday life, but everyone knows how it happens, it seems like summer, but it’s already autumn, and winter is right here! It’s not for nothing that the proverb says, prepare your sleigh in the summer! I’m a little distracted, but in fact it happened and I’m writing as if in spirit!

The blanks were prepared, the iron was cut, bolts were purchased, and of course the tools...electrodes, wheels for the grinder, etc. Krail sometimes during the day, sometimes at night. I even thought about taking part in a homemade competition, but I couldn’t meet the deadlines))), this didn’t upset me at all and I moved forward to the best of my ability, Dad supported me with advice, where real help, it’s more fun together!

A lot was prepared, the base was assembled, the ends of the skis were bent... a little about the bends - I bent them with a hairdryer, this is the most sensible thing, a blowtorch in in this case no good, warmed it up, bent it, fixed it with bolts.

Well, the snowball has started to fly, and the fur coat still doesn’t have a sleeve...

Dad, while I was rushing from one business trip to another, I bent a loop out of a rod, assembled a damper... all that remained was to assemble the drawbar into a pile, which is what we did

upon my arrival home. As a result, the base and drawbar looked like this:

Along the way, I welded the plates and tightened them with bolts, strengthening the weak points, because I’m not a good welder, but I want reliability

The result was a sled, although I didn’t have time to prepare it in the summer, but I wasn’t late for the season!

The tests were successful, and we removed the snow from the yard, went hunting and fishing, and even brought a Christmas tree. Satisfied.

P/S The cross members were still trimmed during assembly, the rings and the jumper were slightly narrower. The rings at the junction with the runner are rounded “along the stream” and tightened with bolts. Furniture bolts with rounded heads are set into a runner from below by heating. The frame is welded from a corner, the shelf width is 25-30 mm, the bottom of the trough is made of aluminum, the sides are inch. The drawbar is attached using a solid rod with a diameter of 18 mm fixed in bushings; a spacer tube is placed on top of the shaft (if necessary, the drawbar can be easily removed).

Weight is approximately 75-80 kg, quite lifting. I won’t say the exact length, but I cut the runners to 3000 mm, the drawbar to about 1100 mm.

I tried to straighten one of the three runners to make the runner wider, using blowtorches and jacks..... I specially welded the device, I’ll say right away - I wasted my time! As a result, the runner was thrown out. I simply planed the other two, leveled the sharp edges with a plane, heated the ends in place with a hairdryer and bent them.

I wrote this blog with detailed photographs, because when I did it myself there was no place to look, but maybe someone will benefit from their constructor.

I will introduce modernization improvements as I use it.

Thank you for your attention!

Hello!

Let's start our article with a short excerpt from the poem “The Dragonfly and the Ant” by Ivan Andreevich Krylov.

... The red summer sang;
I didn’t have time to look back,
How winter rolls into your eyes.

Summer is summer, but there is another fabulous and beautiful time of year - winter. It brings us cold and frost, snowstorms, as well as half-meter snowdrifts. But at the same moment it gives us joy and fun, gives us the opportunity to throw snowballs, and most importantly, sledding. Winter is a favorite time for many people and children, and every year we look forward to it no less than summer.

A little background:
It all started with the fact that winter had come outside, which meant that the moment had come, that hour when it was time to take a sled and go down the highest hill, but at that moment, due to certain circumstances, they simply weren’t there. You could just go out and buy them. But there was one small drawback to this idea, it was an inflated price tag local stores, and the uniformity of models. But since the hands were out right place, it was decided to make them myself. The available material and tools, as well as free time, made it possible to do this.

There are these types of sleds:

 Wicker;
 Wooden;
 Metal;
 Inflatable;
 Plastic.

In this work, the author chose wooden sleigh, since the tree available material, and is easy to work with. Moreover, they can be made from the remains of unnecessary wood, using a minimum of fasteners.

We'll need it.

Tool:
- electric jigsaw;
- hammer;
- corner ruler;
- wood hacksaw;
- sandpaper;
- pencil;
- chisel.

Material:
- board 40 mm thick;
- nails.
- crown;
- drill.

Let's start by taking a board (40 mm) of a length of your choice. Next, take a pencil and draw the outline of the future runners on the surface of the board. It turned out something like this.

Then the author takes a jigsaw, with which he begins to cut out the shape, according to the drawn outline.

Now that the first part is ready, we will use it as a template, simply fitting it onto the second workpiece, drawing along the contour from beginning to end.

And then we cut out according to the same scheme electric jigsaw.

Now you need to take two finished parts and attach to each other. Thus, we will mark the width of future grooves, where we will later install horizontal slats. After one we make small symbols with a cross. These are the places that will be directly deleted.

Next, along the marked area, using a hacksaw, we make cuts of a certain depth, an example in the photo.

When everything is ready, take a chisel and remove the cutting part. Now the grooves are ready.

Then we take a 25 x 40 mm strip and cut it into 8 equal parts. Next, we install them into the finished threaded grooves. We fasten with nails or self-tapping screws.

Now we can assume that the main part of the structure is ready. All that's left to do is to form the back. It was decided to make it tall. Thus, it will be possible to use it as a support when moving the sled from its place and further movement. We use a similar material - a 25 x 40 mm rail, 90 cm long on each side. We attach the vertical slats to the sides of the runners with nails or self-tapping screws.

We strengthen them a little with two short slats on each side. In this way, additional structural rigidity will be achieved.

Now we make several grooves where we install two horizontal slats, according to the resulting dimensions of the width of the sled.

We make several holes using a small crown in the upper part of the back. There are also a couple of similar holes at the beginning of the runners for the rope.

A cylindrical handle was pre-made, which we inserted into the hole.

Polymer pipes are a universal material that is perfect for installing water supply, sewerage and heating systems in a house or apartment. However, in the hands home handyman, who has a remarkable imagination and an insatiable desire to make something on his own, PVC parts can turn into quite intricate, but no less useful products. For example, in a snowmobile sled made of plastic pipes, the manufacturing process of which will be discussed below.

Types of sled trailers

It should be noted that you will not find a universal model.

There are many factors that influence which sled to use:

• the specifics of the route to be overcome;
• height and density of snow cover;
• terrain features and so on.

Let's look at a few of the most common types.

Freight

The design of these sleds is quite complex. For sliding, skis are used, which can be connected to the frame using shock absorbers. There are varieties designed for transporting heavy and oversized cargo.

Sometimes a special box is placed on cargo sleds, with which you can go on long tourist trips.

The main advantage of cargo sleds is their large load capacity and excellent maneuverability. These parameters depend on the size of the frame (the wider, the more stable the sled will be) and the area of ​​the sliding surface (the type of runners used).

It is also desirable that the platform is high from the snow crust. This way the cargo was protected from getting wet. But you should not make the sled too high, otherwise it will often tip over when turning.

Volokushi

A very common type of sled. Their design is extremely simple. They are sold in all specialized tourist shops and are relatively inexpensive.

Volokushi have one big drawback– due to their characteristics, their leading edge and coupling device are often damaged.

But there are also advantages:

• little weight;
• low center of gravity;
• fast loading and unloading of luggage;
• no freezing of the body;
• the ability to transport small cargo by water.

Volokushis are absolutely not intended for transporting people. The entire surface of the body is in contact with snow, and therefore it is not possible to install shock absorbers. In addition, unlike models with skis, these sleds absorb the impacts of stones, snowdrifts and unevenness with the entire body, which undoubtedly affects comfort.

Passenger

They are not very common in our country due to the lack of appropriate infrastructure (equipped snow trails and parking areas). Often such sleds are made independently by winter fishing enthusiasts.

They are a plastic or plywood body mounted on skids. The cabin can be equipped with a heater and lighting.

The disadvantage is the heavy weight, so for transportation you need to use powerful snowmobiles equipped with a four-stroke power unit.

Design features of the sled

Before you begin design work, you need to understand what basic elements the sled consists of. The fact is that the manufacturing process includes several stages, at each of which some key part is made.

It is necessary that you have a good understanding of the purpose of each of them:

1. The main part of any sled is the frame, which is the basic supporting element for the entire structure.
   It must be as durable as possible, since it depends on:

• safety of operation of homemade sleds;
• duration of trouble-free operation;
• reliability of the device as a whole.

Considering that the snowmobile sled will be used in difficult conditions, the frame must be able to withstand negative ambient temperatures, as well as the impacts that the sled is constantly exposed to when driving through forests or bushes.

Otherwise, you will be unpleasantly surprised when the loaded sleigh falls apart while riding and dumps all your belongings on the snow in the middle of a forest clearing.

1. Second important element– runners. Strength is also very important here, however, another important detail is ease of control. This determines whether the sled will tip over when cornering or not.

The last point is the dimensions of the structure. This parameter is selected individually based on the tasks that are supposed to be solved with its help.

The sled may be small, but maneuverable and light. Either it will be durable reliable design, designed to move significant loads. You decide.

Making a sleigh

Tools and materials

Once you have decided on the sizes, you can start working.

In order to make a snowmobile sled from PVC pipes, you will need the following tools and materials:

• (they are purchased at the store, but you can also use old ones left after repair or dismantling of an old water supply system);
• a hacksaw or special scissors for cutting plastic pipes;
• apparatus for welding pipes and fittings;
• an industrial hair dryer that will be used to warm up, and;
• sharp mechanic's knife;
• sanding paper, file;
• marker for marking parts;
• bolts and nuts for securing parts;
• metal corners that will strengthen the assembly points.

Operating procedure

It’s not difficult to make a sled from plastic pipes with your own hands. The price of the material is low, which will save a significant amount Money, which you would spend by purchasing ready-made models sold in specialized stores.

The manufacturing instructions consist of several successive steps:

1. The first step is to mark the lines on the pipes along which they will be cut. It is necessary to pay special attention to careful adherence to the dimensions, otherwise the sled will turn out asymmetrical, and the work will need to be redone.
   The ends of the pipes should be fused or connected using fittings. If you are not going to do this, you can saw the ends of the parts at an angle of 45 degrees and fasten the frame using metal corners.

1. Considering that the sled, as a rule, has a rectangular shape, the frame will need two long and two short parts. After marking and cutting, the ends must be thoroughly cleaned sandpaper or a file.
2. After this, the frame is placed on a workbench or floor and checked again to ensure compliance with the design dimensions.. Then it is welded. If you do not have a special soldering iron, the connection can be made using bolts and nuts. In this case, metal corners are used to add strength.

Advice!
Usage welding machine preferable.
With its help, stronger connections are obtained, and it will take less time to work.
If you don't want to buy specialized tools, you can rent them from a specialized hardware store.

1. To give the frame strength (especially when you are making a cargo sled), it needs to be reinforced with additional cross members.
   For this purpose, you need to cut several pieces of pipes of suitable length and process their ends with a file, giving them an oval shape corresponding to the diameter of the pipe.
   Next, they are inserted into the frame in the form of spacers and melted or secured with metal corners. Remember, the strength of the sled will depend on the quality and thoroughness of the frame assembly.
2. The next stage is the manufacture of racks. The height of the sled above the level of snow crust will depend on their length.
   In this case, it is advisable to take into account the following nuances:

• a sled that is too tall will often flip over when turning due to its high center of gravity;
• a platform on low racks will have difficulty passing through deep snow, and the cargo located on it will get wet.

Advice!
The optimal height of the sled is from 20 to 30 cm.
The racks connecting the frame to the runners should be exactly this length.

1. The number of supports depends on the length of the sled, but for strength and reliability they need to be made larger. It is advisable that 6-8 pieces are mounted on each side. They should also be processed with a file ( round section) for a tighter fit to the frame. As you work, constantly try on the part to the place where it is welded.
   The lower part of the racks can be different:

• flat - if you plan to use flat wide runners (for example, from cut polymer pipes big size);
• semicircular - if the runners of the sled are round (from ordinary plastic parts small diameter).

1. After adjusting the dimensions, the runner stands are attached to the frame using a soldering iron or corners. Make sure that they are all installed smoothly, without distortions.
2. Now it's the runners' turn. To do this, you need to decide on their shape. The easiest way to make round skis is from ordinary pipes. However, this option is less comfortable to use, since the sled will often fall through the snow crust and turn poorly.

Homemade sleds made from plastic pipes with flat skis are more stable and maneuverable. When the snowmobile turns high speed they will not tip sideways.

1. To from round pipes to make flat skis, they need to be cut lengthwise and bent. For this purpose it is used construction hair dryer. As a last resort, you can heat the part over an open fire, but this must be done carefully, as the plastic may melt.
   After heating the pipe with a hairdryer, place a board with a weight on top of it and leave until it cools completely. The fold in front is done in the same way.
2. In order for the sled to pass through deep snow, the bend of the skis must be made large and the upper end must be secured to the frame, forming a semicircle.
   A seat, a box for transporting things and other accessories of your choice can be installed on top of the frame.

Don't forget to attach a drawbar, with which the sled will be secured to the snowmobile's towbar.

Advice!
It is recommended to assemble and install a simple electrical circuit with a light bulb that is mounted on the dashboard.
When the sled is separated from the towbar, the circuit will open, which will be signaled by the light coming on.
This way, you won't lose your sled while driving through the forest.

Conclusion

In addition to a trailer for a snowmobile, children's sleds can be made in the same way. You just need to choose the right sizes. For more details, see the video in this article.